Recently our school internet provider decided to block virtually anything that allowed for collaboration, creativity and ingenuity to the point that I am just about to change ISP's.  Youtube has been blocked for a while and I can understand this one but it doesn't mean you cant download a video or audio stream simply at home and share it in your classroom.

The latest incarnation of Real player Basic allows you to download any media stream and save it to your PC.  You can convert these to a number of formats  instantly within Real Player for an Iphone, Zune or just a standard PC format.

It doesn't get much easier to download, as soon as a video or audio stream loads in your bowser a real player pop-up will appear asking you if you wish to download.  That is as simple and as complicated as it gets.

There is a paid version of Realplayer, but remember you only actually need to get hold of the basic version which can be found here.

How can I use this in the classroom? I use it to grab news clips, for class discussions, sections of documentaries and even some green screen back grounds for our TV studio.  There are a range of classic fairy tales and fables next time you want to do some creative writing with your kids.